Quid Pro Quo
folder
AtS/BtVS Crossovers › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
19
Views:
5,649
Reviews:
77
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
AtS/BtVS Crossovers › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
19
Views:
5,649
Reviews:
77
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) or Angel, the Series (AtS); nor any of the characters from them. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
What a Change a Phone Call Can Make
A/N: Thanks so much to Megan for beta-ing this story and for the encouragement.
Chapter 2 – What a Change a Phone Call Can Make
“Good afternoon, Angel Investigations, LA Branch. How can I help you?” Every time Nina said that it made her smile. Helping Angel and seeing him everyday made her smile. She loved him so much.
An English accented voice came over the line. “Good afternoon. I was hoping to speak to Angel if he is in?”
“Yes, he is. Can you hold on?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
With eyebrows raised, Nina turned from the phone and looked over at Angel, whose own curiosity was written all over his face. “This guy on the phone wants to talk to you. He has a British accent, but not like Spike’s. More like Wesley had.”
“Nina, that was how Spike originally sounded before he was turned. Ask him about that sometime. He will love it.” Angel threw this over his shoulder as he headed for his desk. Even though he was setting Spike up, which he loved to do, Nina could see a tick in Angel’s clenched jaw. It still hurt hearing Wesley’s name, and to make it worse, he had a stinking suspicion who was on hold. To say that Wesley was a friend sorely missed was an incredible understatement. Spike, Angel, Nina, and sometimes Illyria? when she pitched in? made up a poor excuse for what he’d always brought to the table.
After the battle against the Black Thorn, Angel had disbanded what was left of Wolfram and Hart’s Los Angeles’ office. He and Spike had then gone back to the building and took as many books, weapons, computer data, files, numbers of the trustworthy employees? according to Lorne’s reading a few months back in the fall? and anything else they deemed valuable. Of course, the formula for the glass that protected the vampires from the sun and all of Angel’s cars fell into the ‘extremely valuable objects to go’ category with them to the Hyperion. In fact, Spike had the Viper at the moment. His own was a Masserati. Oh, not to be forgotten, they transferred enough funds to Angel’s account to last a century or two; so much that they had invested it and were living off the interest along with the profits from Angel Investigations.
Then under the name of Angel Investigations and using the trustworthy employees at Wolfram and Hart, Angel and Spike started up a hand full of branches in hot spots across the United States and Canada, ones that weren’t already crawling with slayers. No locations in Europe. Neither one of them wanted to go anywhere near the Watchers Council or a certain slayer in Rome. A complete about face from earlier in the year, neither of them had any desire to see the ex that they had in common. In fact, after the defeat of the Black Thorn, Angel and Spike had sincerely agreed for one of the few times in their existence to be done with not just Buffy, but slayers in general. As for organization of the business, Angel ran things from LA while Spike and Illyria traveled, checking up on branches in person. After his long, unappreciated stint in Sunnydale and then being so tied to Wolfram and Hart in LA, Angel was hard pressed to get Spike to stay in any one place for long, so the arrangement worked out nicely.
“This is Angel…Giles?...Yes, I am surprised you bothered to call us…” Nina was startled to hear the cynicism in Angel’s voice. She had heard bland and sarcastic, but not cynicism very often. “You have a problem that you need help with? Really? I’m shocked. Why don’t you send Andrew to handle it, and some of those new slayers. They certainly did a good job on us, but you can do the leg work this time. Thanks for calling. Bye.”
Nina got up from her seat and perched on the edge of Angel’s desk. She knew from experience that Angel was boiling underneath so she took his hand and lightly massaged it, trying to help him in some way with this obviously bad situation.
Angel would be happy to know that Giles felt the sting of his sarcasm. They both knew that Angel was referring to the incident of the mentally disturbed slayer, Dana. In typical Giles fashion, he chose to ignore Angel’s references and move on. “Wait…wait please, we have a situation developing at the Hellmouth of which we need your particular…your unique condition.”
“Don’t tell me. Wait. Let me think. Ahhh, you need a vampire with a soul.” Angel held his hand lightly over the mouthpiece and looked up at her. “Nina, guess what? I’m psychic today. Remind me to buy a lotto ticket later.”
Nina? That was a new player that Giles didn’t know about. Regardless of her, Giles was sorry to find that Angel was being less than helpful. Actually, he was shocked to find the usually stoic vampire smart mouthing him. First this Nina and second Angel’s attitude, two unknowns that didn’t sit well with him. “Yes, we do need you in Cleveland. To be exact, among a few other supernatural creatures, we need a vampire with a soul. We have an issue with the Hellmouth…er…leaking.”
That got Angel’s attention. “Leaking? Leaking? Giles, the Hellmouth isn’t some child’s beach ball deflating.”
“But…”
“But fine.” Angel let him off the hook. “Where do I go?”
He tried to cover it, but Giles’ voice sounded very relieved. “I am currently in England, but I will be leaving in a little over an hour, putting me there before you get there. The Hellmouth and our facilities are located in a suburb of Cleveland in an area called Tinkercreek. We are located in an old mansion where we outfitted the stables as a dormitory for the slayers-in-training.”
Angel interrupted Giles’ longwinded explanation. “I don’t think I will have any trouble finding it. You know, that whole vampire-hellmouth attraction. But, Giles…?”
“Yes?”
“I will be bringing my own crew. You know…so I can trust them.” He hung up before Giles could say anything more or give any orders that Angel had no intentions of following.
During the conversation, Angel had started to mention Spike as another vampire with a soul, but that wasn’t quite true anymore. After the big battle against the Black Thorn, Spike sort of Shanshu-ed, or whatever you would call it. The obnoxious punk was now a living vampire, which was a contradiction in itself. It was like the Powers That Be said that he was only half way to the reward. He still had a vampire’s characteristics, strength, enhanced senses, and stamina, and also human characteristics including breathing, able to go out in the sun and organs functioning. He was a supernatural human, but neither wanted to acknowledge that he was similar to a male version of a slayer, just with fangs and a need for blood. That was when they reminded themselves that they were done with slayers. Hell, after that phone call from Giles, Angel guessed they weren’t as done with the Watchers Council as they had wanted.
There wasn’t a day that went by that Angel hadn’t thought about how he had signed away his chance to shanshu. And Spike and Nina wouldn’t let it go? but for different reasons than his. Neither believed that you could just sign away his eventual fate, and they both believed that his successful fight against the Black Thorn earned him another chance. God, Angel hoped they were right.
He looked up into Nina’s beautiful face and immediately felt better, soaking up her warmth. But as he looked up at her, he thought about what Giles? said that more supernatural creatures would be needed. That worked into the plan nicely since Nina had been working with some gurus that specialized on control in creatures such as werewolves, and she had been progressing nicely and quickly. “Nina, how would you like to take a little trip?” After a quick kiss and explanation, he turned to his computer to surf for a hotel. “We need to get hold of Spike. He’ll just love this, and won’t they be surprised he’s back. Oh, and when you get him on his cell, put it on the speaker phone. I just gotta hear him blow up.”
“Hope no one is standing close to him when he hears this.” Nina was already headed to the phone on her desk. “He’s in Mississippi at the casinos on the coast. Our office there is having a problem with shertt demons.”
“Well, tell him to get his butt off the poker tables and meet us in Cleveland. I will get us some hotel reservations while you track him down.”
*****
TBC
Chapter 2 – What a Change a Phone Call Can Make
“Good afternoon, Angel Investigations, LA Branch. How can I help you?” Every time Nina said that it made her smile. Helping Angel and seeing him everyday made her smile. She loved him so much.
An English accented voice came over the line. “Good afternoon. I was hoping to speak to Angel if he is in?”
“Yes, he is. Can you hold on?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
With eyebrows raised, Nina turned from the phone and looked over at Angel, whose own curiosity was written all over his face. “This guy on the phone wants to talk to you. He has a British accent, but not like Spike’s. More like Wesley had.”
“Nina, that was how Spike originally sounded before he was turned. Ask him about that sometime. He will love it.” Angel threw this over his shoulder as he headed for his desk. Even though he was setting Spike up, which he loved to do, Nina could see a tick in Angel’s clenched jaw. It still hurt hearing Wesley’s name, and to make it worse, he had a stinking suspicion who was on hold. To say that Wesley was a friend sorely missed was an incredible understatement. Spike, Angel, Nina, and sometimes Illyria? when she pitched in? made up a poor excuse for what he’d always brought to the table.
After the battle against the Black Thorn, Angel had disbanded what was left of Wolfram and Hart’s Los Angeles’ office. He and Spike had then gone back to the building and took as many books, weapons, computer data, files, numbers of the trustworthy employees? according to Lorne’s reading a few months back in the fall? and anything else they deemed valuable. Of course, the formula for the glass that protected the vampires from the sun and all of Angel’s cars fell into the ‘extremely valuable objects to go’ category with them to the Hyperion. In fact, Spike had the Viper at the moment. His own was a Masserati. Oh, not to be forgotten, they transferred enough funds to Angel’s account to last a century or two; so much that they had invested it and were living off the interest along with the profits from Angel Investigations.
Then under the name of Angel Investigations and using the trustworthy employees at Wolfram and Hart, Angel and Spike started up a hand full of branches in hot spots across the United States and Canada, ones that weren’t already crawling with slayers. No locations in Europe. Neither one of them wanted to go anywhere near the Watchers Council or a certain slayer in Rome. A complete about face from earlier in the year, neither of them had any desire to see the ex that they had in common. In fact, after the defeat of the Black Thorn, Angel and Spike had sincerely agreed for one of the few times in their existence to be done with not just Buffy, but slayers in general. As for organization of the business, Angel ran things from LA while Spike and Illyria traveled, checking up on branches in person. After his long, unappreciated stint in Sunnydale and then being so tied to Wolfram and Hart in LA, Angel was hard pressed to get Spike to stay in any one place for long, so the arrangement worked out nicely.
“This is Angel…Giles?...Yes, I am surprised you bothered to call us…” Nina was startled to hear the cynicism in Angel’s voice. She had heard bland and sarcastic, but not cynicism very often. “You have a problem that you need help with? Really? I’m shocked. Why don’t you send Andrew to handle it, and some of those new slayers. They certainly did a good job on us, but you can do the leg work this time. Thanks for calling. Bye.”
Nina got up from her seat and perched on the edge of Angel’s desk. She knew from experience that Angel was boiling underneath so she took his hand and lightly massaged it, trying to help him in some way with this obviously bad situation.
Angel would be happy to know that Giles felt the sting of his sarcasm. They both knew that Angel was referring to the incident of the mentally disturbed slayer, Dana. In typical Giles fashion, he chose to ignore Angel’s references and move on. “Wait…wait please, we have a situation developing at the Hellmouth of which we need your particular…your unique condition.”
“Don’t tell me. Wait. Let me think. Ahhh, you need a vampire with a soul.” Angel held his hand lightly over the mouthpiece and looked up at her. “Nina, guess what? I’m psychic today. Remind me to buy a lotto ticket later.”
Nina? That was a new player that Giles didn’t know about. Regardless of her, Giles was sorry to find that Angel was being less than helpful. Actually, he was shocked to find the usually stoic vampire smart mouthing him. First this Nina and second Angel’s attitude, two unknowns that didn’t sit well with him. “Yes, we do need you in Cleveland. To be exact, among a few other supernatural creatures, we need a vampire with a soul. We have an issue with the Hellmouth…er…leaking.”
That got Angel’s attention. “Leaking? Leaking? Giles, the Hellmouth isn’t some child’s beach ball deflating.”
“But…”
“But fine.” Angel let him off the hook. “Where do I go?”
He tried to cover it, but Giles’ voice sounded very relieved. “I am currently in England, but I will be leaving in a little over an hour, putting me there before you get there. The Hellmouth and our facilities are located in a suburb of Cleveland in an area called Tinkercreek. We are located in an old mansion where we outfitted the stables as a dormitory for the slayers-in-training.”
Angel interrupted Giles’ longwinded explanation. “I don’t think I will have any trouble finding it. You know, that whole vampire-hellmouth attraction. But, Giles…?”
“Yes?”
“I will be bringing my own crew. You know…so I can trust them.” He hung up before Giles could say anything more or give any orders that Angel had no intentions of following.
During the conversation, Angel had started to mention Spike as another vampire with a soul, but that wasn’t quite true anymore. After the big battle against the Black Thorn, Spike sort of Shanshu-ed, or whatever you would call it. The obnoxious punk was now a living vampire, which was a contradiction in itself. It was like the Powers That Be said that he was only half way to the reward. He still had a vampire’s characteristics, strength, enhanced senses, and stamina, and also human characteristics including breathing, able to go out in the sun and organs functioning. He was a supernatural human, but neither wanted to acknowledge that he was similar to a male version of a slayer, just with fangs and a need for blood. That was when they reminded themselves that they were done with slayers. Hell, after that phone call from Giles, Angel guessed they weren’t as done with the Watchers Council as they had wanted.
There wasn’t a day that went by that Angel hadn’t thought about how he had signed away his chance to shanshu. And Spike and Nina wouldn’t let it go? but for different reasons than his. Neither believed that you could just sign away his eventual fate, and they both believed that his successful fight against the Black Thorn earned him another chance. God, Angel hoped they were right.
He looked up into Nina’s beautiful face and immediately felt better, soaking up her warmth. But as he looked up at her, he thought about what Giles? said that more supernatural creatures would be needed. That worked into the plan nicely since Nina had been working with some gurus that specialized on control in creatures such as werewolves, and she had been progressing nicely and quickly. “Nina, how would you like to take a little trip?” After a quick kiss and explanation, he turned to his computer to surf for a hotel. “We need to get hold of Spike. He’ll just love this, and won’t they be surprised he’s back. Oh, and when you get him on his cell, put it on the speaker phone. I just gotta hear him blow up.”
“Hope no one is standing close to him when he hears this.” Nina was already headed to the phone on her desk. “He’s in Mississippi at the casinos on the coast. Our office there is having a problem with shertt demons.”
“Well, tell him to get his butt off the poker tables and meet us in Cleveland. I will get us some hotel reservations while you track him down.”
*****
TBC